Phishing
What is phishing?
Phishing is when criminals send convincing looking, but fraudulent emails to encourage you to enter your details on to a fake website – although everything appears legitimate.
Recognising the signs
E-mails may contain, for example:
- Casual or informal wording not in the normal style for a legitimate company
- Familiar language or tone but poor grammar and spelling
- 'Verify your account' request - banks will never ask you to enter full account details, passwords or PINs onto a website
- 'There is a secure message waiting for you' - a subject line to encourage you to read a message, but the email still asks for your personal account details
- 'If you don't respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed' - creating a false sense of urgency, even claiming that your response is required because your account may have been compromised
- 'Click the link below to gain access to your account' - sophisticated email messages can contain links or forms to fill in similar to a legitimate website
- 'Dear Valued Customer' - phishing emails are usually sent out in bulk and often do not contain your first name or surname
Avoiding the phishers
Remember:
- Never respond to any unexpected or suspicious emails or text messages
- Don't click on any links or attachments within them
- Never enter any bank account numbers, sort codes, or PINs